Foot and Ankle Exercises for Injury Recovery

Exercises after sustaining a foot and ankle injury can help restore strength, flexibility, and range of motion and slowly ease your return to daily activities. However, you should first make sure that your injury has indeed healed and that you only exercise safely. Before starting any foot and ankle exercises for injury recovery, it’s best to consult with your doctor or physical therapist. In fact, it’s best to do rehabilitative exercises under the supervision of a physical therapist, in the beginning, to ensure you do them correctly and safely.

Here are a few foot and ankle exercises usually recommended to patients who are on the mend from an injury. Before you start any exercise, do not forget to warm up for at least 10 minutes.

Ankle Pumps

Depending on the injury, lateral movements are best avoided to prevent stressing the injury site. Ankle pumps are one of the best exercises for foot and ankle injuries. Point your toes upward as if you were about to touch your shin and hold that position for about 30 seconds, then release. Do this move 5 times before moving on to the next ankle. Next, point your foot down until you feel a stretch in your calf muscles. Hold the position for 3 seconds, then do the same with the other ankle.

Calf Stretch

Facing a wall, press the palms of your hands against it, and place one leg behind the other leg. Bend the knee that’s a step forward until you feel a stretch in your back leg. Hold the position for about 30 seconds, then release and move to the next leg.

Strengthening Exercises

You can start these exercises as soon as pain from your injury subsides, or according to the advice of your physical therapist.

Wrap a resistance band around your forefoot, holding each end with your hands. With your leg bent, slowly push the foot away from you. Hold that position for 30 seconds, then release. Do this move 5 times with each leg. This is a resisted plantar flexion exercise.

Proprioception Ankle Sprain Exercises

These exercises help prevent reinjury and improve balance. If you experience pain in the injured foot and ankle, please do not continue with this exercise.

First, stand on one leg with your arms out to the side. Hold the position for as long as you can and then relax. Try to repeat the exercise 5 times with each leg. Next, do another set of the exercise, but this time, with your arms by your side. Finally, do another set with your eyes closed.

Comprehensive Treatment and Rehabilitation for Foot and Ankle Injuries in St. Peters and O’Fallon, MO

Proper treatment and rehabilitation can prevent injuries from reoccurring. At Advanced Bone & Joint, we provide comprehensive foot and ankle care, from diagnosis to rehabilitation. Our goal is to relieve pain and restore function to your foot and ankle using state-of-the-art treatments and techniques.

To schedule a consultation with our talented orthopedic doctors, call Advanced Bone & Joint at (636) 229-4222 or request an appointment now. For non-life-threatening injuries that occurred within the last 72 hours, we are ready to receive you in our orthopedic urgent care clinics in St. Peters & O’Fallon.